The Office Games

The climb ends where trust falls.

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“Morning all,” Dylan Koh’s bass voice turned the office into a boombox. “Thank you for your presence this lovely September morning.”

One that resounded in a room no larger than a child’s bedroom.

With the Famous Five–except friendship was off the cards.

The office never felt so much like a cage.

Its prisoners–five accountants eager to make–

The Climb.

The air had a metallic tang, distinct–

Blood on coins.

A low groan emitted from the ceiling.

Anton, Susan, Paul, and Fiona each had a drive to succeed that was legendary—and would make participants in The Apprentice blush.

Dylan, the CEO of Raintree Finances, continued.

“The five of you are Raintree’s nominees to succeed the outgoing Chief Financial Officer, Desmond Sim. ” He couldn’t resist a smirk. “But you need to prove that you have what it takes to fill his shoes.”

“Each of you must complete a series of tasks. The objective? To be the only one left on the corporate ladder. To eliminate–” he paused, “and be the ONLY one left standing. Literally.

The five shot glares at each other that could pierce the plasterboard walls.

“I’m game. ” Fiona’s gravelly v

ice seemed stronger than usual.

“Me too.”Anton was louder, not to be outdone.

The rest sat up straight.

Stoic.

Nodding.

Determined.

The walls of the room seemed too tight.

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The trained accountants found the first task—

Ordinary.

Auditing a few books was of no consequence.

But they soon increased in–

Complexity.

They found themselves having to locate vital, secret files and label them all to be declared challenge winners.

Each red-marked, as if bleeding.

Of course, Fiona mislabelled one–by ACCIDENT.

Susan misplaced another—again, by ACCIDENT.

Each “accident” added weight to their breathing.

Trust was a major casualty–a mere nod was a lie.

The calculators on the table seemed to click, tallying each mistake

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It was neck and neck–ALL four contestants overcame the initial challenges.

To face the Penultimate Task.

One which demanded–

Compromise.

Of self.

Paul and Susan succumbed—choosing right over ruthlessness undid them–integrity was too slow for mercy.

Anton and Fiona remained in separate rooms.

The task?

To sign a doctored statement or forfeit the game.

The walls of the office seemed to pause their approach; the beat of the staplers on the tables halted.

Waiting.

For betrayal.

Fiona caught sight of Paul mulling over the document; his form was still visible through a transparent window.

He raised his pen.

She raised hers.

Ambition struck quicker than mercy.

Dylan emerged from his room with the document.

Signed by himself.

Ceding trust.

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For the employees–there had been no promotion.

The climb ends where trust falls.

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Voices of Her Heart

Single mum Sarah dragged the toothbrush over her teeth, not excited at the prospect of another endless day of endless rants from a micromanaging boss.

She paused in the middle of drawing circles over them and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

Her gaze stayed on her wrinkles and furrows.

She seemed–

Older. Empty.

Joyless.

Visions of her heart.

Her boss screamed at her over the deadlines she’s not met yet– noisy muzak in her ears.

She tossed and turned in bed that night, trying to come up with a way to finish a pending project.

No answers.

Instead, whispers.

Her body stiffened.

She cracked her neck.

She chalked it up to tiredness and threw her head back onto the pillow.

Then, dreams.

Of how her boss at humiliated her in front of a customer–

Incompetent.

Irresponsible.

Of her being unable to finish preparing a simple dish of fried noodles.

Herself, missing a phone call from the job agency informing her of a new position–and a higher salary.

She sat up with a start.

The room seemed emptier– more silent than usual.

She had installed solid wood floors in the rooms.

But– creaks.

The whispers continued, now clearer.

“You’ll never be…you’ll never be….”

Too coordinated.

With her heartbeat.

Her 10-year-old daughter knocked at the door.

“Mom, you screamed louder than my friends in the playground. What’s wrong?”

She pushed the little girl back to her bedroom, blushing at seem to be her own little-girl nightmare.

“Get to sleep. School tomorrow.”

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The whispers increased in volume.

Sarah begin to feel someone gripping her toes when she wore shoes.

She could no longer chalk the voices up to imagination.

Scenes of herself failing at making sales grew clearer.

More intense.

Along with her guilt.

When she thought of her little girl.

The whispers turned into half-phrases.

” You’ll never be…”

She chalked them up to fatigue. But she couldn’t afford failure.

Her daughter.

But they were just too loud.

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Then, the whispers stopped.

Sarah could finally sleep—

For a few days.

Then, she heard them again.

But louder each night.

Until—

A clear voice.

Cold.

Commanding.

“You’ll never make a sale. You’ll never be.”

It knew exactly when her presentations would fail.

“They’ll laugh at you.”

The gripping at her toes moved up to her ankles– feeling the tug– even when she was awake.

She stumbled about in her own home– once nearly falling down the stairs.

Then visions of herself telling her daughter that she couldn’t buy her toys because there were no sales.

Her daughter’s face.

Covered in tears.

Then, the work papers she brought home turned into–

Something different.

“You’ll never be” — scrawled in bright red across each page.

One night, really loudly.

” You’ll never be enough.”

She shot up in bed, stunned.

The ominous sound seemed to sync with her heart.

She heard it again.

” I’ve always been here. You’re a good listener.”

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Sarah woke up the next morning, humming to herself as she prepared breakfast.

She knew what it meant.

She couldn’t listen anymore– she had to make a sale this month.

And she did.

The client was completely engaged– he only had to sign the papers.

They arranged to sign them at her office the next day.

He was about to put the pen to paper.

Loud.

In her head.

” You’ll never be.”

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White Rose Bouquet

The day was ending for Moira; she’d had an unexpectedly large number of orders from the community’s hospital.

A name among them rang.

She knew it, but didn’t want to recall.

She was about to pull down

the shutters when—

A knock.

Too long. Too purposeful. Too much like something–

Familiar.

Mira paused in the middle of packing a bouquet of roses, their thorns pricking her fingers.

A few drops of blood on the white petals—but they unnerved.

The knock was, by all means, ordinary.

A short.

Sharp.

Rap.

But it sounded strange, pressing against her nerves.

Her hand paused between the roses, her fingers twitching.

Too… insistent, resounding in her mind’s recesses.

A customer’s knock had never felt so–

Expectant, like someone wanted to walk her out

The way he used to…

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Her heart raced as she pressed against the petals laced with her own blood.

Thump.

The knock resounded in her chest.

She gazed out of the peephole.

A pair of broad shoulders.

Like his were.

Her eyes fell on the bouquet.

His–for her.

She seemed to hear his laugh from beyond the door.

His chuckle–

Low.

Deep.

One that she wanted so much to hear.

The smell of white roses teased her nostrils.

The games they played.

How he gave her a white rose every time she won one of their little races.

Every time she cried.

She peeped again.

White roses, catching the sunlight.

Surreal.

Beautiful.

Their scent….and then his hand. Warm.

His.

Thump.

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Moira cracked the door open further.

The figure brushed past the doorframe, hands lingering on hers—

For a moment.

His fingers used to cover hers–

Like this.

Soft.

Gentle.

Warm.

Her pulse quickened—she remembered.

Needed.

Then….she stepped back.

A hand—one she knew–stayed on a rose.

She could see a half-smile on his face–not clearly.

But she recalled.

How he used to take her to her favourite restaurant—

Even when he preferred Japanese.

His soft voice as he spoke to her mum—

Sick in bed.

Her last hours.

Soft.

Comforting.

But…

The car.

Headlights, too bright.

The crash.

The gravestones—too grey.

Too bleak.

White roses, laid on the grave bed.

Like the ones he had given her.

Her vision blurred.

She needed.

Wanted.

The scent of white roses filled the room.

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She held the white rose bouquet—an extra second.

Too long.

His hand still felt…warm.

The way…

She teared. Then straightened herself

She still had to meet that order.

But she still wanted to hold his roses.

Somehow.

A white rose bathed in the sunlight—

Warm.

Waiting.

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The September 18th Numbers

Listen…to the quiet warnings.

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Mei was preparing Chinese waffles in the family kitchen, getting the children ready for what was supposed to be a routine morning.

“Eh, get up! The school bus will be downstairs in an hour!”

10-year-old John and 8-year-old Sam sat up in bed.

With looks grouches would be proud of.

A horse racing calendar hung on the kitchen wall, omnipresent. Slightly dog-eared, Mei had flipped the pages countless times to mark important dates.

And yes, to make horse racing bets.

But the calendar didn’t turn on dog ears. Over time, they began to peel– and curl.

Almost like curved nails, reaching for attention.

Its metallic tang lingered in the kitchen, at he edges of her mind.

She fingered a number– the print felt too dense.

Alive.

The metallic smell grew as she neared certain numbers.

She glanced at it.

September 18th glared at her.

Familiar–yet wrong.

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She stared at the date for a few long minutes.

The metallic smell of the calendar turned her nose red.

Numbers started to peel off the pages–

Faster and faster.

The phenomenon was beyond Mei’s exhausted–yet frantic mind.

Her two-year-old toddler ambled into the kitchen and tugged at her sleeve.

She took the little boy in her arms– and his fingers brushed its pages lightly.

Another date flashed.

Her deceased grandmother’s birthday.

With a shocked gasp, she backed away, trembling fingers reaching for the kitchen knife on the table.

It tensed within her grip.

The dates were–too correct.

Her mind flicked to each one–as if it knew.

It stored–more than mere numbers.

It was telling.

Choosing.

It had–

Chosen.

Her.

She had to warn–or confront.

Fate lay in those numbers–hers, or another’s.

September 18th.
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The numbers on the calendar peeled off–

A whirlwind.

September 15th.

16th.

17th.

The metallic smell overwhelmed.

Mei’s pulse thudded.

“September 18th… I know this date…”

Then, she remembered.

Her older sister.

The one whom her mother had cried over countless family gatherings.

She had died after fingering a kitchen knife.

Curiosity.

She had turned it turned it–

To her heart.

The knuckles around the knife in her hand turned white.

She backed away from the calendar– near her toddler.

The knife.

Waited.

Then, she dropped it.

A sigh of relief.

She gazed at the young child, giggling, still tugging at her dress.

The calendar’s hinted page.

September 17th.

She clutched her young daughter’s arm.

The calendar curled. With the smell of metal.

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The Cave Remembers

Some curiosities are carved in stone—and they never forget.

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The boys scrambled across the rocks of the cavern, wet from the rising tide. The smell of hewn stone pervaded the air—dust waiting to be returned to life.

The walls had taken on a luminous sheen—more vibrant than they should have been after thousands of years. Carvings of livestock—bison, horses, stags—had been etched mid-stride, as if the animals were unaware of being stalked. The sound of echoing hooves.

No one was moving.

A nervous chuckle seemed to come from Marvin, one of the inquisitive teens. “Look—it’s like they’re watching us.”

The others exchanged hesitant glances, then turned their heads to him. They were silent.

For too long.

“Marvin,” Nicholas had furrows on his brow.

And those furrows weren’t typical.

The laughter echoed around the cavern.

“Did you just laugh?”

“It wasn’t me,” He swore. But his face had contorted into a too-wide grin.

One he tried to control—vainly.

Then, the walls stirred.

Shadows rippled around the bison’s hooves. They pounded in echo—but nothing moved.

The carvings shimmered in the light of the boys’ lanterns—as if the creatures had noticed.

The hooves echoed—faster.

The boys tried to stand, gripping the stones around them a little too hard.

“Hello?” Nicholas’s question bore a panicked ring.

“Hello!” An echo—not Nicholas’ voice.

Then—fur. On the hooves of the etched bison.

The bison’s muscles.

Twitching.

The paintings on the wall turned.

Antlers poised.

At the boys.

Who wanted to know—too much.

The boys quickly backed out of the cavern. As they did, the bison returned to their etched poses.

Heard.

The tide receded—but the hooves still pounded, for those who dared to listen.

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Have you known curiosity to stir the bison, figuratively? Do share in the comments.

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The Step Before Mine

City folks exhausted by routine. Figures moving through streets and parks, half-forgotten. Shadows hover strangely when no one watches.

When no one pays attention.

Attention that, when neglected, should be reclaimed–before things change.

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Lina was the quintessential workhorse—she cared for nothing but the daily grind. She’d taken enough from a boss who wanted more than she could deliver—all she wanted was home, and to soak in a bubble bath of kindness.

The park was empty of visitors, leaving only lamplight that bent oddly around puddles of rain for company. The air was cool—so cool that shadows hesitated or lingered, almost as if they found the ground repugnant.

Lina trod the usual path, her bagpack slung carelessly, her eyes glued to the cracked pavement. Something at the periphery of her vision twitched—perhaps a passerby in a sonic hurry. Or likely a flickering shadow, drifting out of place. She blinked it and flitted out of sight.

A puddle rippled—no wind blew. A leaf hovered in midair, remaining a second too long. Lina snapped her head. The figure appeared at the corner of her eye again, teased by the light.

Precise.

Too exact.

She turned right. It did too. She turned left. It did too. It mimicked every step she took. The light of a park lamp hovered over her, shining on distended shadows that stretched in ways that tightened her stomach.

She stopped. It did too.

She stepped forward—it moved first.

Her pulse raced. Each of her instincts screamed that she had a mimic—one that tested and teased, floundering at the edges of her perception. Reality shivered.

Her movements—no longer hers.

She managed to leave the park. The pavement leading from it was familiar — yet out of place. The corners had taken on a razor-like quality that seemed to brush against her skin with ominous fingers. Shadows hung over her—too long. The air bore an uncanny memory of what once was.

She couldn’t unsee—it. It echoed every twitch, every glance with uncanny synchrony.

Something had shaped her awareness during those moments. Not in the best way.

She breathed, at last, at a normal rate. But her shoulder twitched, and it did too. It glanced towards unseen corners—together with her.

The street before here echoed the impossible rhythm. The shadow had consumed the edge of her attention.

That she had been too busy to give.

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Original story by Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin. AI tags are coincidental.

Has the unnoticed waited for you before? Feel free to share!

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Please find a book of my horror microfiction, Echoes in the Dark, free for download here.

As One

Everyone needs a hero.

So it is that the town of Wilkinson gathered to celebrate the sacrifices of those who cared for those who ran towards flames or pain.

Sirens wailed–not for safety, but empty celebration. The confetti little ones in the audience at the town’s stadium fell to its floor in heaps of ash.

The parade was in full swing– cars drove by with garish clowns staring out the window. Jugglers on pogo sticks smiled twisted smiles as they tossed tennis balls in the air.

Confetti ash stuck to spectators’ hands as they waved their party favours. In the middle of the third row, a mask slipped–a child’s gaze felt–

Hollow.

Vacant.

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The marches began–armed service platoons, and paramedics, now on a different duty. They marched well.

Too well. Too timed. Their boots struck the pavement in a march too stoic–one beyond dignity.

A metallic tang rode the air, filling it with an almost bloodlike taste.

Where there was none.

The crowd started to shift in their seats. Little children eyed the passing clowns, not with laughter or smiles, but stares, locked in place.

Siren calls distorted–the crowd snapped its heads in their direction.

In perfect sync.

Unthinking.

And the marchers lagged behind the music–not under its guidance, but the metronome of another.

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The metallic tang thickened, more and more akin to blood. The confetti ash stuck to everyone’s hair, greying each member of the crowd.

A crowd of dedicated to service.

One which continued its mechanical cheers.

Then, one of the marchers faltered out of step. His mask slipped.

His face–sunken. Pale. Stoic.

Features affixed.

The crowd soon followed his falter, their masks dutifully slipping.

To the same, unseen rhythm.

Their faces–his.

Sunken. Pale. Stoic.

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Silence.

The group of marchers and the crowd stayed still.

As one.

Staring.

At —

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When a march like this begins, would you follow, or strip off the mask? Do answer in the comments!

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Please find a book of my horror microfiction, Echoes in the Dark, free for download here.

The Blood Moon Rises

Hey, it’s the day of the Blood Moon…one of horror… for those with lingering feelings.

Or an old soldier with lingering feelings for battles that once were.

But let’s remind him–we’re never too damned old to think of something new.

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“I’m too young to feel this damned old.”

Alone, in a rundown backyard that hadn’t been tended in years. The sky was–a thing of beauty. Blood seemed to trickle from the weeping willow of a moon–echoes of the heart. A cold breeze graced the neck–wonder if it remembered. The sky was too alive–that Garth song wanted it tamed.

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Sounds of what seemed like gunfire–or a military drill at a nearby airbase. Then, bright, vibrant sparks consumed the skyscape.

Flashes in the sky, or just tricks of the mind, triggered by a moon in blood red?

The mind certainly whirred—a comrade-in-arms, cut down by tracer fire. The night burned, along with the flames in the sky.

The echo of boots on wet metal was all too audible. A single red streak across an endless black canvas. The piercing whistle of the cold wind, meeting its fire. Back on the ridge, twenty-three, hollow…and that Garth Brooks song.

Dragging a fractured mind forward to an unwanted time.

Echoing.

“I’m too young to feel this damned old.”

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But old it was. The body had started creaking a few months back. A haunted mind –pitch black, against the flaming orange sparks of gunfire that once were.

That once were.

The orange sparks danced. The heart still aches–too painful.

That could never be again. But these creaking legs still carry an old man wanting his guns.

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Yes. Too young to feel this damned old.

The moon above was bleeding–too much–and the same blood trickled from my ribs. Bullets lodged during two tours of Korea and one of Vietnam.

Ones missed–too strangely.

The orange sparks blended with the stars, becoming a flickering Van Gogh canvas–a poignant reminder of the comrades left behind.

The sky didn’t care. The song still played—faint. Too true.

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Two tours of Korea. One of Vietnam.

Still here.

Still counting the countless stars years younger than the frame.

A frame still younger than the dead.

The moon in the sky still bleeds..and Garth Brooks still haunts.

Too young to feel this damned old.

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The September Blues: Part 2

Would you resist the call to blend?

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The sirens stopped, but the figure stayed.

Deathly still, as if waiting to draw breaths.

Sockets wide, drawing.

Hollow.

Bloodshot.

Its presence swallowed the echo of the sirens.

Its silent gaze pressed on Janine’s ears, shrinking their calls.

Todd stared at it through the window, a picture of calm.

Too calm, like he already expected him.

Janine, meanwhile, noticed little things in the house—

Not in sync.

Lights flickered, fickle sparks in the night air.

Her phone froze, responding dutifully to the sirens’ calls.

Everything in the home jittered in disharmony, refusing her rhythm.

Heeding a will not her own.

Todd drew the being close.

Too close.

The figure drew his spirit, almost locking him in.

The young preteen whispered about what he shouldn’t know at his age-almost to an intimate, imaginary friend.

The figure whispered into his bones, carrying the weight of memory.

A weight–unlearned. The branches of the trees in the garden swayed, bending to the windows, as if responding to a conductor–

The figure in the backyard.

Todd’s knowledge, untamed, began to corrode.

He lifted his head.

And turned.

The air hummed where the figure still stood.

Angry. Edgy.

Janine’s phone froze, responding dutifully to the sirens’ calls.

The backyard tenant was closer each time Janine looked away.

Not moving.

Always nearer, though she never saw it move.

It collapsed distance–still.

Neighbour’s eyes peeked, on edge, from behind the curtains,

Waiting.

Then, Janine knew.

The civil readiness drills weren’t meant to protect–they were coined to foster obedience.

Conformity.

To a being that defined–for others.

And, like clockwork, the neighbours stepped into their backyards.

Walking in perfect sync to the movement of its arms.

👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️👀👁️

If you like this story, do join me on Patreon! Buy this blog a coffee — it keeps the words flowing and the lights on! Your kind donation via Paypal would be greatly appreciated!

Please find a book of my horror microfiction, Echoes in the Dark, free for download here.

The September Blues

September is a month of transition, when our lives become–Busyness.

Our lives can run the mill–sometimes uncontrollably. But we have to sometimes put that aside–at least, long enough to notice the little things.

Ignore the subtle–at risk.

👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️

Todd had gotten on the bus to school just a few hours earlier, and Janine was already ready to throw in the mummy towel. But it kept wrapping around her. The single mother still had to plod on– she went through her routine in the small town, trying frantically to rush through endless errands before her son returned for lunch.

The small town prided itself on its civil readiness– all citizens responded in synched time to the call of sirens. Lockdown practice was mere child’s play. Janine barely noticed the peaking decibels, chalking them up to traditions that did chaotic dances in her ears. But this sounded more—

Alluring.

Persistent.

Like a call to somewhere– unworldly.

Still, she brushed the thought aside and paid quickly for her groceries. She didn’t want to leave a little boy wailing outside her home.

This year’s call seemed–

Different. The wails refused to end.

Hurried breaths over a YouTube video broadcast.

The street emptied of her neighbours almost as quickly as it ended.

“Mommy, everyone ran home faster than the Flash.” The 11-year-old Todd whisked his head around, taking in the chaos. “What’s happening?”

“Just an extended drill, Todd. Don’t worry about it.” But her words and heart were an uneasy mismatch. The hairs on her arms stood on end–

Too straight.

She was at the cutting board, trying to execute perfect slices of cucumber, when she felt a tugging on her sleeve.

It was Todd.

Her usually stoic son’s fish was deathly pale.

He gestured wordlessly to the backyard.

A figure that at the pots of dandelion she had painstakingly nurtured from scratch.

Unmoving.

Featureless.

Hollow eye sockets.

It remained still, watching,

Janine froze herself, knife in mid-air.

The figure turned–just enough for it to catch the corner of her eye.

The sirens wailed louder.

Todd whispered, pointing. “Look Mum. It’s swaying. Like your dandelions.”

Janine’s pulse quickened–Todd.

She moved towards it, knife in a tight grip.

The figure stretched towards them. The doors creaked.

Todd pulled her back. “Not now.”

The figure tilted its head– its teeth were in a sharp snarl.

Blood seeped out of its temples.

The sirens deafened.

Janine’s breath caught. Todd.

It was fight– or flight.

The figure moved towards Todd, arms outstretched.

Janine’s knuckles were white on the knife’s grip.

Then, the siren softened.

The figure backed into the garden.

Facing them. Staring.

Todd nodded. “It moves with the call.”

The figure lingered in the garden, fixing them with an empty gaze, its presence louder than the sirens.

Not to be ignored.

👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️

If you like this story, do join me on Patreon! Buy this blog a coffee — it keeps the words flowing and the lights on! Your kind donation via Paypal would be greatly appreciated!

Please find a book of my horror microfiction, Echoes in the Dark, free for download here.